{"id":11842,"date":"2025-01-22T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=11842"},"modified":"2025-01-06T06:47:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T11:47:13","slug":"first-and-last","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/22\/first-and-last\/","title":{"rendered":"First and Last"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mercy Me\u2019s song, \u201cI Can Only Imagine,\u201d1<\/a><\/sup> comes to mind when I read today\u2019s verse. As the lyrics unfold, the musician wonders what will happen when he enters heaven and sees Jesus for the first time. Based on John\u2019s vision, we\u2019ll fall to our knees in awe, experiencing the Lord\u2019s presence in a way we can\u2019t even begin to imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and Last, Christ\u2019s eternal presence in our lives culminates when He calls us home. John experienced this vision while exiled on the island of Patmos, the only disciple to live to old age and die of natural causes. Like prophets before him, the apostle felt fear and trembling in the presence of the Almighty, needing Christ\u2019s reassurance to soothe him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One day, we will experience John\u2019s vision for ourselves. The Eternal One will greet us when we enter heaven, and the glory of the Lord will unfold before us. Living for the hope of eternity gives us the strength to persevere and release our fear. God\u2019s will comes to fruition; nothing man can do will stop it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Living One, Christ, never changes; He alone can do everything. Linking His divine qualities to the Lord\u2019s earthly existence, Jesus\u2019s life revolves around the Cross and Resurrection, atonement for our sins, and connection with Him forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prayer:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lord,
Thank You for giving Your life for ours, allowing us entrance into Your kingdom, and the ability to fall at Your feet in worship. Please help us live in the light of eternity, fearing not but walking boldly with You.
IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=N_lrrq_opng<\/a> \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    One-minute read. Mercy Me\u2019s song, \u201cI Can Only Imagine,\u201d comes to mind when I read today\u2019s verse. As the lyrics unfold, the musician wonders what will happen when he enters heaven and sees Jesus for the first time. Based on John\u2019s vision, we\u2019ll fall to our knees in awe, experiencing the Lord\u2019s presence in a… Continue reading First and Last<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=N_lrrq_opng<\/a>\",\"id\":\"5cd85938-4ec9-4353-b771-b8ee49ada008\"}]"},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11842"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11852,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11842\/revisions\/11852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}